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Virginia Tech doesn't lose road games - especially in North Carolina. Duke doesn't beat nationally ranked teams.
It'll take one of the biggest upsets of the year for those trends to change.
The 15th-ranked Hokies (7-1, 3-1) can set an Atlantic Coast Conference record Saturday with their 11th straight road victory when they visit a Duke team that hasn't defeated a Top 25 opponent in nearly two decades.
The Blue Devils (3-4, 1-2) haven't even finished within one possession of a ranked team since Virginia Tech beat them by eight points two years ago in their last visit. The current group of Hokies has won three straight overall, has scored at least 30 points in all of those victories and certainly is playing like the favorite to win another Coastal Division title.
''This team, Virginia Tech, has hit stride,'' Duke coach David Cutcliffe said, ''and in all areas, it's pretty amazing to watch them.''
Except, of course, when you're trying to beat them - something that hasn't happened in a true road game since Georgia Tech did it in 2009.
A victory at Wallace Wade Stadium would break the mark Florida State set in 2000 and Virginia Tech matched in 2006. The Hokies are 22-5 on the road since joining the ACC in 2004, and have won all 13 games they've played against ACC teams in the state of North Carolina.
They'll have to go for that record short-handed after leading tackler Bruce Taylor suffered a season-ending right foot sprain last week against Boston College. He's the fourth defensive player and third starter lost for the season.
''There's a lot of guys on our football team that would be tough losses if you look at both sides of the ball, but there's no question that Bruce has not only a lot of leadership but his play, the number of tackles and sacks, and all those things,'' coach Frank Beamer said. ''I mean it's a tough loss for us.''
While the Hokies' defense has been decimated by injuries, the offense certainly is clicking.
David Wilson leads the ACC in rushing with a nearly 130-yard average, and is looking for his sixth straight 100-yard performance. First-year starter Logan Thomas has accounted for 11 touchdowns - six passing, five rushing - during the current winning streak.
''We have to do better at stopping the run,'' Duke cornerback Ross Cockrell said. ''They're a big run team. Wilson, he's having a great year in the ACC, so we have to focus on stopping him while also containing their receivers and their quarterback.''
That will be quite the challenge for a Duke team that hasn't beaten a Top 25 team since 1994 and will try to avoid its 44th consecutive loss to a nationally ranked opponent but nevertheless has Beamer's attention.
''You've got to be careful about this Duke team, concerned,'' Beamer said. ''Right now, every game has tremendous importance.''
The Blue Devils are coming off a 24-23 loss to instate rival Wake Forest in which they scored on five straight possessions to take a six-point lead - only to watch it come unraveled after the Demon Deacons hit on a 66-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter.
''We can't be on our heels defensively when a team has a quarterback who can run and throw,'' Cutcliffe said. ''If we play our technique, play smart, be where we're supposed to be and doing what we're supposed to be doing, we have a chance to defend. If we play 65 snaps, we need to defend all 65 of them with the proper technique and fit. The focus has to be on our own execution. They have great athletes and they are very well coached.''
A Virginia Tech victory would keep the Hokies in charge in the Coastal with three of their last four games away from Blacksburg. If nothing else, the Blue Devils enter with a little more desperation - they need to win three of their final five games to become bowl-eligible for the first time since '94.
''We've always gone into each week thinking (their record) is zero and zero,'' Cockrell said. ''Zero wins, zero losses. We want to go 1-0 for the week. And this week, we're looking to go 1-0. The next week after that, we're looking to go 1-0.''
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AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz Jr. in Blacksburg, Va., contributed to this report.
